Home & Design

Hot Trends in Luxury Homes

Spas, safety features and gender-specific spaces lead the way in home amenities

Hot Trends in Luxury Homes


A one-of-a-kind home by Great Falls Construction

Developers of homes and communities designed for upper echelon buyers are competing in a lucrative market. To stand out from the crowd they have to anticipate what their buyers will want in tomorrow’s luxury homes and high-end communities. Beyond the great room with soaring ceilings, builders are getting creative in their attempts to woo the well-heeled home buyer. The following trends are driving many of their decisions.

Health and Wellness
Steam rooms, saunas, massage rooms, a home fitness facility and media and game rooms are just a few of the more popular choices among luxury-home buyers looking to stay fit and have fun without leaving home. Home swim spas or treadmill-type pools such as an Endless Pool are in particularly high demand.

Yours and Mine
Forget his-and-hers sinks in the bathroom, how about his-and-hers bathrooms? Separate closets, dual dressing rooms, separate garages, and his-and-hers living areas are also increasingly common features in million-dollar properties. Gender-specific spaces may include yoga rooms, cigar rooms, reading rooms and putting greens by the pool.

Turning Green
Solar power, geothermal heating and cooling systems and sustainable and non-toxic building materials are just a few of the choices available. Savvy buyers are also demanding more environmentally friendly kitchen materials, including glass and metal instead of plastic, forest service-certified wood and chemical-free adhesives.

Safety First

Luxury home buyers recognize the need for safety and security. Whole house back-up generators, privacy measures, secure wireless home networks, state-of-the-art security systems and even safe rooms are just a few of the in-demand family security products in the luxury home market.

The Best in Technology
Many homeowners work and play in their homes; the demand has never been greater for home media rooms; whole-house wireless networks to control lighting, window treatments, HVAC, and entertainment systems; and full home offices. These are just a few of the considerations to take into account when designing the technological infrastructure of your new luxury home.

Getting Out
Pretty views, open spaces, outdoor kitchens, swimming pools, outdoor spas, decks, sunrooms, solariums, and greenhouses are popular choices as homeowners seek to extend their luxury living spaces outdoors.

A Catchall By the Kitchen
Luxury-home buyers are increasingly asking for a room adjacent to the kitchen to use as a computer/home management center. It’s a place where kids can do homework and the whole family can surf the Internet. Sometimes called a keeping or hearth room, it’s the perfect place to sweep all that kitchen clutter before guests arrive.

Speaking of Kitchens

Remember when houses had one kitchen each? These days, in addition to a main kitchen, super luxurious homes often have special catering kitchens and mini-master-bedroom kitchens. In climates conducive to alfresco living, complete outdoor kitchens with stainless-steel grills, granite countertops, warming drawers, wine coolers and ice makers are gaining popularity. These cooking spaces often include everything from the outdoor kitchen sink to refrigerators, icemakers and elaborate grills. And some homes feature well-appointed nanny or in-law suites complete with their own kitchens.

Cleaning Up
The stress-busting bathroom is another must-have feature for true top-of-the-line homes. Multiple-head showers are gaining popularity, while the newest bathtubs feature colored LED lights you can change to suit your mood, pop-up TV screens and hydrotherapy jets. Luminous glass and handcrafted tiles in a variety of colors are also showing up in the bath. The addition of upholstered furniture—from chaises to recliners—is making bathrooms more like home spas. Towel warmers and heated floors ensure that all you touch is toasty.

Getting Out

Backyards are gaining increased scrutiny from affluent homeowners looking to relax in the great outdoors. Multiple gardens, potting sheds and outdoor accessories and art are popular appointments. Swimming pools are common again in new homes, some with elaborate pool houses. Tennis or multi-sport courts are popular, as are outdoor fireplaces, fire pits and pizza ovens.

The Graceful Garage

Forget the old cluttered garage of the past. Today’s finest luxury homes have garage space for three or more cars, often in two separate buildings in a motor court type of arrangement. Inside, these garages are clean and crisp with the latest organizing systems, a beverage fridge, a wall-mount TV, and high-end tool storage.

High-End Niche Communities
More and more high-end home buyers are searching for a home in a community with a little something different, and the market is responding. While country club and golf communities are certain to remain popular, a new breed of luxury home community is cropping up to meet the growing needs of a younger generation. Private Reserve communities are an ecologically pristine option for the environmentally conscious home buyer who enjoys the beauty of nature.

Equestrian communities offer horse lovers a return of the gentleman’s farm, with riding trails and complexes combined with an elegant lifestyle in a noble tradition.


Watermark Development Group's oasis pool design.

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